Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT produces a measured performance profile in Downfall that is heavily dependent on settings and resolution, with the combo ranking 2091 out of 2928 tested combinations. The data reveals a system where the GPU frequently becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial thread count and cache resources keep frame rates competitive at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all twelve tested configurations, interprets the ranking context, and provides practical guidance based solely on the observed numbers.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D brings 12 cores and 24 threads to the table, running on the Zen 5 architecture with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its 128 MB of L3 cache is a defining feature, alongside 80 KB of L1 cache per core and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. The processor supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, and it uses the AMD Socket AM5 platform. The 120 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC position it as a high-end desktop part, with an average benchmark score of 54762 and a percentile ranking of 91 against all CPUs.

In Downfall specifically, the CPU's influence is most evident at 1080p Low, where the combo reaches 191 FPS average — the highest measured value across all configurations. This suggests that at lower graphical loads, the 12-core processor can feed frames rapidly without bottlenecking. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and multi-thread score of 13795 indicate strong per-core performance and robust scaling, which matters for a horror title that likely has varied scene complexity. Cinebench R23 results of 6739 single-core and 47737 multi-core further corroborate the CPU's capability to handle both lightly threaded and heavily threaded workloads.

The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs at 91 places it well above average, yet the combo's overall rank of 2091 out of 2928 suggests the GPU holds the system back in many scenarios. The nearest rival comparisons show the 9900X3D's average score of 54762 is 0.6% below the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF's 55093, 1.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K's 54053, 2% above the Intel Xeon 6505P's 53701, and 2.1% above the Intel Core i7-14700F's 53620. These small deltas indicate the CPU is competitive with its peers, but the measured FPS in Downfall reveals that at higher resolutions and settings, the processor's headroom goes unused because the GPU saturates first.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured FPS across all three resolutions, the Medium preset consistently offers a balanced experience with framerates that remain playable. At 1920x1080 Medium, the combo achieves 156 FPS average with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 180 FPS — these are the only min/max values recorded in the dataset, indicating stable frame delivery. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average drops to 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS, still well within smooth gameplay territory. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average falls to 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS, which remains acceptable for a horror title where immersion matters more than competitive refresh rates.

The Low preset delivers the highest frame rates at every resolution: 191 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 85 FPS at 4K. However, Low settings typically sacrifice visual fidelity, which in a horror game can impact atmosphere and readability. The High preset sits between Low and Medium, offering 128 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K — the 4K High result dips below 60 FPS, making it less ideal for smooth playback. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, producing 80 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and just 36 FPS at 4K, with the latter being borderline unplayable for many users.

Based on the measured data, Medium is the recommended preset for this combo. It provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the 1080p and 1440p results comfortably exceeding 100 FPS and the 4K result staying above 60 FPS. The presence of min/max figures for Medium at all resolutions suggests the dataset captured frame time variance, and the values indicate consistent performance without severe drops. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness over visuals, Low is viable, but Medium offers the superior experience per the measured rows.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation at higher pixel counts. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 191 at 1080p to 136 at 1440p, a reduction of 55 FPS, and then to 85 at 4K, a further reduction of 51 FPS. This represents a 55% decrease from 1080p to 4K, which aligns with the pixel count increase and indicates the GPU is the primary constraint. At Medium settings, the progression is 156 FPS at 1080p to 111 FPS at 1440p to 69 FPS at 4K — a 56% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, 128 FPS at 1080p falls to 91 FPS at 1440p and then 57 FPS at 4K, a 55% decline. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute drop: 80 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 1440p to 36 FPS at 4K, a 55% reduction overall.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four settings strongly indicates that the Radeon RX 6600 XT is the bottleneck as resolution increases. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the data shows proportional scaling with pixel count. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest for 4K workloads, which explains the steep decline at 3840x2160. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1804 and PassMark G3D score of 16461 place the GPU at the 70th percentile among all GPUs, confirming its mid-range positioning.

The 1080p results, particularly at Low and Medium settings, show that the CPU can sustain high frame rates when the GPU is not overwhelmed. The 191 FPS at 1080p Low and 156 FPS at 1080p Medium suggest that the 12-core processor has ample headroom, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors. This pattern is typical for a system where a high-end CPU is paired with a mid-range GPU, and the data confirms that the 9900X3D's capabilities are only fully utilized at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo ranks 2091 out of 2928 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This ranking reflects the overall performance across all tested settings and resolutions, with the RX 6600 XT's limitations pulling the average down despite the CPU's strength. The percentile versus all GPUs for the RX 6600 XT is 70, meaning it outperforms 70% of GPUs in the database, but this is not sufficient to boost the combo higher given the game's demands at higher settings.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for the processor's contribution. The 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762 is 0.6% below the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF's 55093, 1.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K's 54053, 2% above the Intel Xeon 6505P's 53701, and 2.1% above the Intel Core i7-14700F's 53620. These deltas are small, indicating that the CPU is not the differentiator in this combo's ranking. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals show the RX 6600 XT's average score of 24442 is 0.7% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630's 24277, 0.8% below the Intel Arc A350M's 24647, 0.8% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti's 24236, and 1.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER's 24170. The RTX 2080 SUPER being 1.1% below the RX 6600 XT in average score is notable, though the measured FPS in Downfall would depend on game-specific optimizations.

The rank of 2091 out of 2928 means roughly 71% of tested combos perform better in this game. This is consistent with the GPU's 70th percentile ranking, suggesting that the combo's position is primarily driven by GPU performance rather than CPU prowess. For users considering this pairing, the data indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield larger gains than upgrading the CPU, as the 9900X3D already ranks in the 91st percentile among CPUs.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU has a base clock of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost clock of 2589 MHz. Memory consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth with a memory clock of 2000 MHz or 16 Gbps effective. The pixel rate is 165.7 GPixel/s, texture rate is 331.4 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 10.60 TFLOPS.

In Downfall, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely constraints at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 36. The 4K Medium result of 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS suggests the GPU can handle moderate settings at 4K, but Ultra pushes it beyond its comfortable range. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1804 indicates the GPU's DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for a modern title like Downfall. The PassMark DirectX 12 score of 61 is notably lower than the DirectX 11 score of 163, suggesting that the GPU may be more efficient in older API workloads.

The GPU's nearest rivals show it is closely matched with several other cards. The 0.7% delta above the GTX 1630 and 0.8% above the GTX 780 Ti indicate the RX 6600 XT is slightly ahead of these older or lower-tier cards, while the 0.8% below the Arc A350M and 1.1% above the RTX 2080 SUPER show it sits in a competitive band. The GPU's 70th percentile ranking among all GPUs aligns with its measured FPS in Downfall, where it produces playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p across most settings but struggles at 4K Ultra.

The TDP of 160 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W indicates the GPU is power-efficient, and its dual-slot design with a 190 mm length makes it compatible with most cases. The PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is sufficient for this performance level. The GPU's end-of-life production status as of its 2021 release means it is no longer in active manufacturing, but its measured performance in Downfall remains relevant for users with this hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Downfall based on measured data?

A: The 1920x1080 resolution delivers the highest frame rates, with averages ranging from 80 FPS at Ultra to 191 FPS at Low. The 2560x1440 resolution is also viable, with averages from 57 FPS at Ultra to 136 FPS at Low. The 3840x2160 resolution produces averages from 36 FPS at Ultra to 85 FPS at Low, making it less suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762, which is 0.6% below the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF's 55093, 1.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K's 54053, 2% above the Intel Xeon 6505P's 53701, and 2.1% above the Intel Core i7-14700F's 53620.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442, which is 0.7% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630's 24277, 0.8% below the Intel Arc A350M's 24647, 0.8% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti's 24236, and 1.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER's 24170.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 2091 out of 2928 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This rank is consistent with the GPU's 70th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most stable frame delivery?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values at all three resolutions. At 1080p, it averages 156 FPS with a minimum of 133 FPS; at 1440p, it averages 111 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS; at 4K, it averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at higher resolutions?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The FPS drops proportionally with pixel count increases, with roughly 55% reductions from 1080p to 4K across all settings. The CPU's high benchmark scores and 91st percentile ranking suggest it has ample headroom, while the GPU's mid-range specifications struggle at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for Downfall with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 191 FPS average
• Medium: 156 FPS average, 133 FPS minimum, 180 FPS maximum
• High: 128 FPS average
• Ultra: 80 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 136 FPS average
• Medium: 111 FPS average, 95 FPS minimum, 128 FPS maximum
• High: 91 FPS average
• Ultra: 57 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 85 FPS average
• Medium: 69 FPS average, 59 FPS minimum, 80 FPS maximum
• High: 57 FPS average
• Ultra: 36 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern of decreasing performance with increasing resolution and settings. The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, indicating it was the focus of frame time analysis. The Low preset offers the highest averages at every resolution, while Ultra offers the lowest. The 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS is the weakest measured performance, while the 1080p Low result of 191 FPS is the strongest. These twelve data points represent the full measured FPS breakdown for this combo in Downfall.